tennmogger. what's a decent price for the PRC-174 and where is a good place to get one? I see there's one on a certain auction site but they want 850 clams for it!
That's not too bad a price. I have seen lower, and got one for lower, then had to spend 2 months working on it! But, I have also seen these priced (not sold??maybe) at up to $1400 for a complete kit. Sources include direct from vendors in Israel, and from US people who have brought them in, checked them out (supposedly) and then resell them at considerable markup. Shipping is probably $100 from Israel, too. That low end price compares to price of brand new ham radio FT-817, FT-857, etc, but gets you military spec and full spectrum coverage. And they are green!
If you don't mind shopping for your own mikes, speakers, and headsets, there are better deals on the transceiver itself. The PRC-174 uses the same connectors as NATO and USA stuff, the 'small' U-229/U, so audio accessories are available at swap meets, hamfests, etc.
The supply out of Israel has dried up just in the last month or two. If you can hold off, and if more become available, price should be better.
Your ideas for antennas are really good. The original whip antenna and side mounts are very expensive usually. I don't have originals of those for my radio either. I use a 10 ft version of a PRC-77/25 whip with a home made thread adapter.
Probably the best deal out there now is the British Clansman PRC-320, but that radio doesn't have the AM or automatic tuner (has manual tuner). You can find them in USB only, most commonly, or in LSB only. Several of us have had power supply problems with those.
[edit] The audio accessories for the Clansman series are NOT standard....and are a real PIA IMHO
I agree that if you can skip the 'military' part, there are some great commercial radios available for the ham these days. If you don't want to become totally committed to military radios, like the green vehicle disease, and don't want to tear them apart in case of a problem, then the commercial stuff is a good idea.
Those PRC-104's are great, too!!! just pricey. I'd like to have one.
Oh, another option, for your SWL'ing, take a look at the C Crane CCRadio SW.
C. Crane Company - CCRadio-SW - Toll Free (800) 522-8863 . This is a nicely made shortwave receiver, has AM (very sensitive) and FM, but does not do SSB or CW. Then have a real SSB transceiver like a PRC-320 to get on the air with. Price for the CCRadio-SW plus a '320 would be less than a PRC-174 or any other mil transceiver I'm aware of.
Bob WB4ETT